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Looking Toward the Future: A Presentation about Relationship Based Fundraising and Instituting a Comprehensive Planned Giving ProgramPresentersHerb Tobin, Consultant, PEJEBarbara Shapiro, Director of Development, Solomon Schechter School of Westchester June 10, 2009 at 1:00 pmThis presentation includes information written by Kim Hirsh, Development Officer, The Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest, coordinator of a $50 million endowment campaign for affordability and academic excellence in day school education.
Development Strategies for Today • A crisis is a terrible thing to waste • Keep your friends close and your best friends closer • Treat the donor like an investor, not an ATM machine. • Tell your story Salient Points from first Schechter Association call, May 26
Taking a longer-term view of the current economic challenges: Building relationships and creating a legacy and planned giving program
Three Interrelated Keys to Fundraising Success • Development efforts must be based on strategic, not tactical / transactional considerations • The key to undertaking a development program based on strategic considerations is relationship building • Keep your message simple
Strategic Fundraising • Who do you spend time with and why? • Engage in high level relationship building vs. perfunctory interactions • Allocate your time strategically: Spend the most time on the people /activities who are likely to produce the biggest gifts • Relationship based fundraising = major gifts
Guide PointsStrategic Fundraising • How do you reduce and / or rationalize the number of events and activities? • Events are also friend-raisers and thank yous, as well as fundraisers • Community wide events • Elite giving groups
Guide PointsRelationship Building • Create major donors, not major donations • People give to people not to causes • Create “Organic Relationships,” built on a shared interests, not contrived, not mercenary • Be mindful of boundaries
Guide PointsRelationship Building • What can you give the donor? • Listen to your donors. They should do MOST of the talking. • Giving follows involvement; are you engaging donors in pleasing, edifying activities that meet their interests? • Take advantage of serendipitous opportunities to interact with people
Four simple rules • Relationship… Relationship… Relationship… • Know your facts and present them in a concise way • The more the family connects to your school, the more they give. • Thank you… Thank you… Thank you…
Guide Points forBuilding an Endowment Program • Think long-term • Create relationships for today and tomorrow • Thing about today’s gifts and future gifts • Incorporate new kind of fundraising: To succeed, schools must adapt relationship-based fundraising (in addition to transactional) to build a comprehensive development program. • Build a strong endowment committee with strong vibrant, well known chairs – make this the place people want to be.
Guide Points forBuilding an Endowment Program • Look to existing donors—current and past, annual/ capital • Not all endowment donors are the “usual suspects”; surprises can and do happen • Tracking prospects: incorporate endowment asks/future asks into your plans • Ownership: need professional and lay person (“the gray eminence”) who own this and will not let it go • Foundations: search those that give to Jewish day schools
Creating a Planned Giving ProgramBuilding a Culture of Generosity • Planned Giving • Think big and long term: transformative change over years and decades • Endowment fundraising is forever • It is a complement to the annual campaign • Keep the message simple; this is overwhelming and uncomfortable for many.
Incorporating Endowment Fundraising Into Your Development Plans: “It’s all about relationships…” • Endowment donors are usually those you know—and should know well • Major gifts can take years to develop • Day Schools build connections on multiple levels and in multiple generations • Current Parents • Parents of alumni • Grandparents • Alumni • Community members committed to a vibrant Jewish future
Why Endowment for Jewish Day Schools?“How Can We Even Think About this NOW?” • Traditional three-legged revenue structure for Jewish Day schools: tuition, Federation allocations, fundraising • Inadequate; each area stretched to max • How will day schools grow and thrive, and welcome all Jewish families, particularly middle income?
Why Now?“There is no bailout for day school education” • Coming of age for day schools • Maturity of the Schechter movement: some of natural constituents (founders, early board members) at ideal age for legacy giving • Growing stability and sophistication in fundraising operations • Day schools build community/connections across generations • Significant potential donor pools • Largest transfer of wealth in Jewish community- historic generation • If only we had started when each school was founded…
Getting Started—Don’t Go It Alone (Part I) Leveraging Support from Federations on Local Level • Planned Giving & Endowment: highly successful area for Federations • Expertise available for the taking within your community • Win-Win-Win for federations, day schools, and donors • Day schools: utilize Federation expertise in gift planning (legal and financial), endowment development, investment management • Donors: trusted, central resource • Federations: • Securing beneficiary agencies • Building future of Jewish community • Building assets of federation • Building stronger ties with donors: symmetry with UJC shift toward ”donor-centered” fundraising
Getting Started—Don’t go it alone (Part II) Leveraging support & guidance on National Level • PEJE • Legacy Pilot Program with four day schools, including Yeshiva of Flatbush • Update by Dan Rosenstein, Director of Development, Yeshiva of Flatbush • National day school endowment conference, 12/08, co-sponsored by PEJE-UJC, 25 communities participated • Assistance • Will help day schools/communities with “case management” and help coalesce knowledge and resources • contacts: • Herb Tobin, Consultant, Financial Resource Development • Sheila Alexander, Program Officer, Financial Resource Development